Franklin Resources Inc. Has $641.06 Million Stock Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,259,224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 889,698 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 4.47% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $641,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,537,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 90,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,103,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.1% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,433 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 20,917 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,076,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GLPI. Raymond James upped their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Wolfe Research raised Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.25 to $57.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.39, for a total value of $151,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 146,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,397,252. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $50.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 11.35, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.00. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.80 and a 12 month high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $385.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $385.09 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 51.93%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.07%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 106.29%.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

GLPI is engaged in the business of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements, pursuant to which the tenant is responsible for all facility maintenance, insurance required in connection with the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties, taxes levied on or with respect to the leased properties and all utilities and other services necessary or appropriate for the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties.